JAMES ROBERT WHITE
About James
Studio and W.I.P.
Almost completely finished. The last process is one of archiving and naming. The name will come as I live with it for a few days. I have a fair idea. I just want to be comfortable in what I choose.
I have always looked for the pinnacles of emergence when I paint. At certain times I am able to do more with it than I should be able to. It is an amazing feeling to commit to and watch happen, knowing that my hand is getting very close to the where and how the emergence takes place. This is one of the intersections in my practice where the science meets the art.
I still cannot answer the question of 'why' emergence
I've been working on some drawings which are extremely loose. I drew with nothing but a stick to create these. The paint is an oil based medium that looks a lot like tar, although a bit thinner in viscosity. I was using the total movement of my drawing arm, consciously using the shoulder joint, elbow wrist, hand and finger movements to feel how the arm creates the kind of stance that I am after.
In reality, these drawings are practice for when I create the ghosting effect on the glass before I add any paint to the surface. I treat these as fun, pure exploration and learning. I don't mind if I over work them. It's the working of the arm I am interested in embedding in to me. This is a kind of exercise in it's own way. One of embedding muscle memory.
It always makes me happy to break in to a new delivery. Especially glass!
​
I've been working some new prints at the moment. I've been playing with the bifurcation scales. A ghosted brush stroke providing the main structure which in turn allows emergence of other smaller structures. There will always be an element of wonder as I watch the painting achieve what I set out to happen. There is a connection I feel when it happens.
_edited.jpg)
My home from home. The studio, as much as it is. I have been in this studio for about 3 years. Right through the covid pandemic. I had a little sanctuary to go when the outside world was not available to us.
​
I think it is about 400 square ft approx. With storage attached of about 15 square ft.
​
The glass on the heatbed is backed with black acrylic to stop the surface becoming transparent. This helps with the ability to see the art work better when I am working on it. This is the stage before the action. Preparation of the materials, for me is cathartic. It can take hours to polish the glass. And I mean hours. The slightest blemish on the surface will leave a ghosting effect and a taint of dust will leave a mark.
​
It all starts with metal dust. I have procured metal dust from so many places around the world that I have lost count. I have found the properties and size of the particulate types of dust can affect the outcome of the work. There are some very counter intuitive things that happen with the dust, such as metal particulates that can float in the air. When you get to understand the size of the particles it begins to make sense. The mixed paint can be seen acting as a natural phenomenon in suspension.
